Each week, many employees find themselves wondering why their pay packet is so small. Aside from the general unfairness of many wages, sometimes it is down to wage theft by their employer.
This can take several forms, many of which are subtle enough to allow employers to profit from this for months or years. If they do that across many employees, it can soon add up to massive savings for them – which is why they do it. Here are some tricks to watch out for:
Starting your shift early or ending your shift late without pay
Let’s say your hours are nine to five. If the boss walks in at 8.50 a.m. and puts you all into action, or at 4.59 p.m. asks you just to hang on for another ten minutes to finish something, then they need to pay you for this extra time.
Refusing to pay overtime at the time and a half
You worked over 40 hours last week. In fact, you worked 50. The 10 extra hours should show up in your pay at one and a half times your usual hourly rate. If the boss just pays you at the same rate as always you have a right to complain. The same applies if they tell you to take time off in lieu of the extra you worked. They cannot just tell you to take 10 hours off and call it even — they must give you 15 hours, or time and a half.
Note that there are some exceptions to these general rules. If you feel your employer has not paid you as they should, consider legal help to understand more.